University System of Maryland

Other

USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Northwestern University

Ichiro Takeuchi

Yunho Hwang

Yiming Wu

Jun Cui

Manfred R Wuttig

Reinhard Radermacher

Jan Muehlbauer

K Reinhard Radermacher

Ratnakar D Vispute

Jiazhen Ling

Suxin Qian

Thirumalai Venky Venkatesan

Peter Finkel

Makoto Murakami

Margo Staruch

Sossina M Haile

Wei Yang

Yangang Liang

Daisuke Kan

Kao-Shuo Chang

Russell W Wood

Huilong Hou

Sihyuk Choi

Xiaohang Zhang

Christopher James Kucharczyk

Fujino Shigehiro

Sung Hwan Lim

Materials for electrochemical cells are provided. BaZrCeMOcompounds, where M represents one or more rare earth elements, are provided for use as electrolytes. PrBaSrCoFeOis provided for use as a cathode. Also provided are electrochemical cells, such as protonic ceramic fuel cells, incorporating the compounds as electrolytes and cathodes.

Methods of forming bilayer cathodes for electrochemical cells

A cooling system employs at least one composite elastocaloric device. Each composite device has a first member with a first material and a second member with an elastocaloric material. The first material increases in size in response to an applied electric or magnetic field and returns to its prior size upon removal of the applied electric or magnetic field. The first and second members are mechanically coupled together such that the increase in size of the first material applies a stress to the elastocaloric material and the return of the first material to its prior size releases said stress, thereby causing the elastocaloric material to absorb heat.

Systems and methods for cooling using a composite elastocaloric device

A system for heating/cooling includes a plurality of thermoelastic modules. Each of the modules includes one or more structures formed of shape memory alloy, which converts from austenite to martensite upon application of a first stress and release latent heat from the conversion. During a first part of a heating/cooling cycle, a first module is stressed to cause conversion. The latent heat released from the first module is rejected to a heat sink while a second unstressed module absorbs heat from a heat source. During a second part of the heating/cooling cycle, the first and second modules are connected together to transfer heat therebetween for heat recovery. The cycle can be repeated indefinitely with the first and second modules alternating roles. Structures of the thermoelastic cooling material and specific applications thereof are also disclosed.

Solid-state heating or cooling systems, devices, and methods

A cooling system based on thermoelastic effect is provided. The system comprises a heat sink, a refrigerated space and a regenerator coupled to the refrigerated space and to the heat sink to pump heat from the refrigerated space to the heat sink. The regenerator comprises solid thermoelastic refrigerant materials capable of absorbing or releasing heat.

Thermoelastic cooling

A compact cooling system based on thermoelastic effect is provided. In one embodiment, the system comprises a pair of rollers serving as a heat sink, stress applicator and belt drive, a cold reservoir and a solid refrigerant belt coupled to the cold reservoir and to the heat sinks to pump heat from the cold reservoir to the heat sink. The refrigerant belt comprises solid thermoelastic materials capable of thermoelastic effect. The refrigerant material is mechanically compressed when entering the gap of the roller and subsequently released after passing through. When compressed the refrigerant material transforms to martensite phase and releases heat to the roller and neighboring materials. After released by the rollers, the refrigerant material transforms back to austenite and absorbs heat from the ambient atmosphere.

Compact thermoelastic cooling system

The present invention relates to lead-free piezoelectric ceramic materials comprising crystalline (and preferably perovskite crystalline) structures of the formula Bi(RE)FeO, where RE is one or more of La, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, and 0&#x2266;x&#x2266;0.3. The materials are at or near the morphotropic phase boundary and display enhanced piezoelectric and dielectric properties.

Lead-free piezoceramic materials

An ultrasensitive room temperature magnetoelectric thin film magnetometer is fabricated on a cantilever beam and includes an active magnetoelectric multilayer structure having a plurality of thin films formed at a region defined on the cantilever beam. Upon application of a magnetic field, the active magnetoelectric structure generates a corresponding response of an electrical nature which is a measure of a value of the applied magnetic field. The material of the cantilever beam may be removed beneath the active magnetoelectric multilayer structure to form a freestanding modification of the magnetometer with superior sensitivity. The active magnetoelectric multilayer structure is either a bi-layer structure which includes a piezoactive (piezoelectric and/or piezoresistive) thin film deposited in contact with a magnetostrictive thin film or a tri-layer active structure (in the free-standing implementation) including a piezoactive thin film sandwiched between a pair of magnetostrictive thin films.

Ultrasensitive magnetoelectric thin film magnetometer and method of fabrication

A system and method are provided to fabricate thin-films having different physical property parameters or having physical property parameters that continuously change across functionally broadband monolithic device arrays. The fabrication method deposits the thin-film including layers on a substrate of a monolithic chip. The method defines a desired gradient profile of each layer forming the thin-film, each gradient profile including a desired thinnest profile and a desired thickest profile. The method further aligns an aperture of a mask over the substrate to form the thin-film and calculates a shutter speed for the specified gradient profile of each layer across the desired area of the substrate, and deposits each layer on the substrate, through the aperture, as the aperture of the shutter moves at the calculated shutter speed from the desired thinnest profile of each layer to the desired thickest profile of each layer.

System and method of fabrication and application of thin-films with continuously graded or discrete physical property parameters to functionally broadband monolithic microelectronic optoelectronic/sensor/actuator device arrays

A mechanism and methodology is provided for performing high-throughput thin-film experimentation with the use and integration of a heater. A single flange assembly contains an automated two-dimensional shutter system (which provides variable masking schemes for spatially selective shadow deposition) and a rotatable (indexed) chip/wafer/substrate heater. The automated two-dimensional shutter system comprises two shutter plate mounts that move in two perpendicular (x and y) directions, so that mounted shutters overlap with each other in certain regions. The substrate heater can be used in the gradient temperature mode or uniform temperature mode. The shutter plates and the heater plate are detachable and exchangeable from experiment to experiment in order to minimize cross contamination of materials.

High-throughput thin-film fabrication vacuum flange

Growing community of inventors

Laurel, MD, United States of America

Ichiro Takeuchi